The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes on the emotional story of the Holocaust, yet from a slightly unconventional angle. The movie portrays the point of view of Bruno (Asa Butterfield), an 8-year-old boy whose father is a Nazi officer. Bruno and his family move from Berlin to a rural home near a concentration camp, of which his father is the commandant. While there, despite an electric fence between them, Bruno forges a friendship with Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a prisoner of about the same age.
Director Mark Herman gave himself a big task when he aimed to make a movie about the Holocaust, a subject matter that is often exceedingly difficult to execute the way it deserves. In many ways, Herman failed in his attempt.
The most obvious issues were the film’s historical inaccuracies. Granted, liberties had to have been taken because much of the film simply could not have happened, but Herman made no efforts to make the film feel plausible. Much of the film centers on Bruno’s innocence, yet it is an innocence that is infuriating and even annoying in a boy who really is old enough to be aware of what’s going on around him. This same ignorance was even more appalling in the mother (Vera Farmiga). I could not believe the audience was expected to sympathize with a grown woman, the wife of a Nazi officer no less, who claimed she had no idea of the mass murder that went on. She was not kept in the dark; rather, she allowed herself to be blissfully unaware until she no longer had a choice to avoid the truth.
Perhaps the implausibility was because of the fact that the film often felt too contrived. It focused so hard on relaying its message that the reality of its characters — none of whom were developed fully enough — was diminished. And frankly, the British accents really did not help matters.
Plausibility issues aside, the movie really made up for itself with its stunning climax, perhaps the most powerful I’ve ever seen. This movie is not for those expecting a heartwarming tale of friendship. The surprise ending was actually physically painful to watch. It was the kind of ending that was so impactful it stuck you to your seat — not one person in the theater got up to leave when the credits rolled.
The movie also deserves to be commended for its originality. Most other Holocaust movies tend to focus on what happened to the Jews and other prisoners in the camps. This is the first movie I’ve seen that focused on a Nazi family. Not only that, but it was also one of the first Holocaust movies I’ve seen from the point of view of a child. In many ways, the conflict between the family and Bruno’s veil of innocence made the atrocities witnessed even harder to watch.
Additionally, in other Holocaust movies, German characters are presented as either heroic and benevolent, or outright, un-repentantly evil. With most Holocaust movies I feel we are shown the horror of the situation, and our responses are pretty clear. There’s never much moral ambiguity. This movie, however, raises many more questions. One of the most disturbing aspects of the movie was the performance of the father (David Thewlis), who is at once a devoted family man and a horrifying monster. While they deserve no sympathy, we often forget that the perpetrators of these crimes were also human. By reminding us of this, the movie’s message resonates much more.
Overall, I would say that despite its flaws, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a movie worth seeing. It leaves an impression that will impact the viewer long after the movie ends.
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